Anti-Agreste [ adrienette ]

chapter thirty-seven

My vision was blurry as I helped the nurses push the bed where Adrien was lying towards the ambulance. The crowd was dispersed by the police, though there were still a few of them who lingered to film the incident. I left Nathaniel with the few detectives who came rushing into the scene after ignoring his plea for me to stay behind.

I gripped on the metal railing of the bed, not daring to look at Adrien's state. Even though I wasn't looking, I couldn't ignore the blood that stained his blond hair and his green eyes that were closed shut. My heart couldn't be any faster as I entered the back of the ambulance along with the two other nurses that came to Adrien's aid.

As I sat down the cold seat, this time, I couldn't help looking at Adrien. I bit back tears of relief when I saw his chest slowly rise and fall, which was the only thing I was holding on to as an assurance that he would wake up sooner or later. I shifted my attention to his head that was full of blood, it stained not just his hair, but also his pillow.

"Thankfully, nobody got shot," the nurse spoke as he placed two fingers on Adrien's neck to check his pulse. "But Mr. Adrien Agreste had quite a hard hit on his head with the metal bars back there. Possibly a severe concussion --- but let's not jump to conclusions," he added hastily the moment he looked up and saw the horrified expression on my face.

A hard hit on the head? I thought as I looked back at the unconscious Adrien.

Without thinking twice, I grabbed Adrien's motionless hand and squeezed it as tight as I could, praying to whoever is listening that I could feel the warmth in them again. I knew there was someone else I should think about --- Felix, specifically --- but it was hard to prioritize anything else while I was stuck with the knowledge that Adrien was in a critical condition. Just as when things were finally going to be okay, even just a little bit . . .

I wiped the tears on my cheeks with my shoulders and took a deep breath. I never let go of Adrien's hand until we've finally reached the hospital, where they had to rush him to the emergency room. I wasn't allowed to go any further, so I stayed at the nearest hallway alone, pacing back and forth, trying to take deep breaths to calm myself down.

"Where did Felix go?" I exclaimed as I ran towards the nurses who placed Adrien's unconscious body on the wheeled stretcher, my feet quickening when I reached them to match their speed.

"Felix? Who's Felix?"

"The other one, stupid!"

"Oh, he . . . he ---"

"---he managed to escape, ma'am."

Felix managed to escape. Felix managed to escape.

Felix managed to escape.

Not knowing what to do and overwhelmed by a variety of emotions, I plopped myself down on the cold metal chairs at the sides of the white, empty hallway as I let out a massive, tired, sigh.

I sat there alone, with two or three medical workers passing by from time to time. Minutes passed by. Hours felt like years.

After a long while, footsteps came rushing closer, and I lifted my head up, expecting to see another nurse or doctor but was greeted by a pair of kind blue eyes.

"Marinette," Nathaniel gasped, and without warning, I stood up and threw my arms around him as I began to cry my heart out. Nathaniel immediately embraced me back, his other hand on the back of my head as he gently patted my hair.

"I don't know what to do," I spoke through sobs, my shoulders shaking violently. "What if he'd never wake up? What if he'd have another amnesia, and . . . and I have to . . . to spend the rest of my years trying to make him remember again . . . ?"